LEADERship

As Director, Ngā Manu Atarau, Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand

As my adventures in music, story and indigenous knowledge have unfolded, I have also been invited or sought to undertake various leadership roles. These include formal roles - such as at Te Papa Tongarewa, the University of Auckland and Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa. It has also included membership of various boards and committees such as Fulbright New Zealand, the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, the New Zealand Festival and the Science Board of the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment. I have had less formal roles too, particularly through my involvement within iwi/Māori communities and upon our marae. See here for my previous leadership roles.

Current Role: TE Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand

My current role is Director, Ngā Manu Atarau (Communities, Repatriation, Sector Development) where I oversee a Directorate responsible for relationships with iwi/tribal communities, contributions to Treaty of Waitangi settlements, repatriation of Māori and Moriori human remains from international institutions, building capacity and capability within the museum, art gallery iwi sector across New Zealand and with leading the bicultural aspects of the museum overall.

previous role: professor of indigenous development

In the period 2009-2014, I was Professor of Indigenous Development, Faculty of Arts, University of Auckland. In this role, I explored the question of the relationship between the university and community development - the role that academia can play in bringing about positive change. I was a professor in indigenous development, which referred to the core wisdom that lies at the heart indigeneity and to the experiences and the search toward empowerment which indigenous communities worldwide are undertaking. Although problematic, the word 'development' is used here to indicate the conscious and deliberate orientation toward positive change in indigenous communities. See my keynote presentation entitled 'Towards a Manifesto for Indigenous Development' delivered as an opening address to the 2012 Indigenous Development conference, Auckland, New Zealand.